Editorial: Down to the wire, 2008 session delivers

05/19/2008

Deals produce health reform, Central Corridor and new park.


Star Tribune
Last update: May 18, 2008 - 7:13 PM


This time, divided state government worked. The sweeping, session-concluding accord reached Sunday between GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the DFL-controlled 2008 Legislature will move this state in a positive direction, in ways big and small.

Its headlines: Health care changes that could shave 15 percent off costs by 2015. Health insurance for 12,000 now uninsured. A 30 percent trim in expected 2009 property tax increases, with 10,000 additional homeowners qualifying for refunds. Funding for Central Corridor light rail and a new state park. A balanced budget for now, and a downpayment on the deficit that's expected in coming years.

The comprehensive health care bill is the package's prize. Its DFL champions -- Sen. Linda Berglin and Rep. Tom Huntley -- masterfully guided their complex bill through a thicket of competing stakeholders. To his credit, after vetoing a larger expansion, Pawlenty agreed to making 7,000 more single adults eligible for subsidized health insurance through MinnesotaCare.

Add that bill, Central Corridor and a new park at Lake Vermilion to two other achievements earlier in the session -- a major transportation funding bill and authorization for a biosciences campus at the University of Minnesota -- and the long-term positive impact of this session compares favorably with any since 2001.

But in the nearer term, state leaders admit, problems remain. The use of $500 million in one-time money to balance the budget this year makes it almost certain that the 2009 Legislature will have a biennial gap of more than $1 billion to close. A state ceiling on local government levies will squeeze city and county services. While school and nursing home funding are in for small boosts, their outlook for 2009 remains troubled.